Tommy ShoriakLMHC

I decided to become a therapist after working several years in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. I recognized my ability to establish rapport with clients and felt a burning desire to find a way that I could better serve the populations I was working with. I decided to return to school to obtain my masters degree and seek licensure so that i could provide the one on one attention that my client needed.

The biggest barrier to finding quality treatment is accessability. In my time working as a therapist I have seen the demand for therapy skyrocket while the amount of professionals has remained constant, which has led to a situation where clients in dire need are subject to waiting several months just to schedule an intake session. There are also very few therapists who are available for after hours appointments which makes it difficult for clients to juggle their work schedules to meet their therapeutic needs.

• Florida, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, MH19138

I started out working as a case manager with children and families in the childwelfare system and learned a great deal about their challenges and needs. I went on to obtain my Masters degree so that I could provide the much needed one on one attention my clients deserved. I have worked as a clinician in a variety of settings which include therapeutic foster care, residential group care, as well as outpatient clients ranging in age from 5 years old to adult. My most recent position has been a mobile response team crisis counselor who works to stablize situations that would require law enforcement or psychiatric hospitalizations if intervention was not implemented. Some of the most common situations that would arise in this line of work would be clients who may present as suicidal, depressed, anxious, disruptive, or emotionally dysregulated.